Hospital honors Wake Forest teen’s organ donation after rip current accident

Friends and family gathered at a Greenville hospital Friday to remember the Wake Forest High School teenager who was pronounced brain dead after she was caught in a rip current off the North Carolina coast.

Paige Merical, 17, and her friend Ian Lewis were caught in a rip current off of Emerald Isle on April 19. The group of friends had traveled to the beach for their spring break, according to the family’s GoFundMe page.

Merical was rescued, but her family members said on Wednesday they planned to remove her from life support because her brain was severely damaged. They planned to donate her organs on Saturday. Lewis’ body was recovered on April 22.

The hospital, James and Connie Maynard Children’s Hospital in Greenville, held a ceremony Friday evening to raise a “Donate Life” flag and turn their building pink in Merical’s honor, according to a Facebook post. Since the accident, Merical has been receiving care at the Vidant Medical Center, which is in the same medical complex as the children’s hospital.

“She was a senior at Wake Forest High School and the sweetest soul loved by all her family and friends,” the post said. “In her memory, and in honor of her organ donation, our light tower turned pink tonight. Many of Paige’s family and friends came to celebrate her life through raising the Donate Life flag and watching the changing of the light tower. May Paige’s memory and final gifts be remembered always.”

This story was originally published April 27, 2019 at 1:13 PM with the headline "Hospital honors Wake Forest teen’s organ donation after rip current accident."